Charmed by an Alias
by MelodyAnne
Summary: What if the sister-witches of Charmed met the hard-core CIA agents of Alias? Disaster. Add in an old romance, a demon attack, a stubborn father, and introduce aforementioned agents to summoning spirits, and this is gonna be FUN![COMPLETE]
1. Casts, for you non duel junkies

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to ABC, TNT, the WB…hell, I don't even know who all I have to attribute this to.

A/N: I know, this is supposed to be a chapter, but I feel I should explain who people are for those that don't watch one show or the other. Characters, terms, ect. So, here ya go.

A/N: This is post-Cole on Charmed, and assuming Piper isn't pregnant yet, even though she should be. I don't want to have to explain the self-healing baby. On Alias, this is somewhere before the end of season 2, because I needed Kendall. And I didn't want to have to explain the two missing years.

* * *

**ALIAS:**

**Characters:**

Sydney Bristow: Super-spy, CIA girl. Kicks serious ass on a weekly basis.

Michael Vaughn: CIA guy, basically Syd's partner. They have a thing going on.

Jack Bristow: Syd's father, also CIA. They aren't very close; she only found out he was CIA when she joined up.

Kendall: the CIA director. "Ethically, he's an ass," but he seems to believe in some out there stuff, so I had to use him for this fic, as opposed to using Dixon, so you Alias fans know where we stand.

Weiss: Vaughn's buddy. You know how guys are.

**Definitions/Explanations:**

DSR: Department of Special Research. It basically looks into weird stuff.

Rambaldi: A centuries old prophet that, in one text complete with a drawing, predicted Sydney would wield the power to destroy the world. He shows up a lot, whenever the writers need someone to blame something weird on or run out of plot ideas.

**CHARMED:**

**Characters:**

Pru: She died at the hands of a demon, breaking the power of three essential to the Charmed Ones.

Piper: The oldest sister, now that Pru has died. She has the power to freeze time, and to blow things up.

Phoebe: The middle sister. She gets premonitions, and has the power to levitate. She also kicks serious ass on a weekly basis.

Paige: The long lost youngest sister. After Pru dies, she is discovered and completes the circle of three again. She was the result of an affair between their mother and her whitelighter, making her half whitelighter. She can orb, and she can orb objects to her by saying their name. (Ex, she says _knife, _and the knife orbs into her hand so that she can stab the currently attacking demon.)

Leo: Piper, Phoebe, and Paige's whitelighter. And Piper's husband.

Grams: Pru, Piper, and Phoebe lived with their grandmother after their mother died. She bound their powers to protect them until they were adults, when they unknowingly read a spell and unbound their powers. Even from the dead, Grams still manages on occasion to get her girls to do exactly what she wants.

The Source: I'm not sure if this is important or not yet, but this is the Source of all evil. A really powerful demon that wants to kill the Charmed Ones and is constantly sending demons after them.

Elders: A bunch of magic dudes that pretty much dictate what good magic is allowed to do. They're over the whitelighters, and they can seem the future, so the whitelighters come to them for guidance.

Cole: Again, I'm not sure if it's important yet. He's an old boyfriend of Phoebe's, former demon, half-human, stripped of his powers, married Phoebe, became the source, got vanquished, his human half allowed him to cheat death, he came back to life with stolen demonic powers, and now he's gone permanently. No, most of that will not be on the test.

**Definitions/Explanations:**

Orb: Kinda like dematerializing and rematerializing at the location of your choice. It's a whitelighter's power. Characterized by swirly blue lights.

Book of Shadows: A spell book passed down through generations of Haliwails. It also has all kinds of information of various demons, evil things, ect.

Levitate: Float. Come on, people, did I really need to explain that?

Premonition: Vision on the future.

Whitelighter: A Guardian Angel for witches. He's supposed to guide and protect his charges from evil.

Charges: Witches a whitelighter is supposed to protect.

Vanquishing Potion: A potion that kills a demon that's too powerful for just, say, Piper's blow-up power to kill. Some demons even require a spell before they die.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Charmed and Alias don't belong to me. So don't sue me. I only have about $20 to my name right now, anyway.

A/N: Don't freak. It'll make more sense soon, I promise.

* * *

It could easily have been said that Penny Haliwail was beside herself. She'd _warned_ that girl she was headed for trouble. She'd specifically forbid her to see that boy again. Grams had even gone so far as to threaten Michael Vaughn if he touched so much as a hair on her Pru's head. But here she was anyway. 

She ran a finger over the page she'd tucked into the Book of Shadows for safekeeping. Clarissa would be only too happy to receive this burden. If a few things seemed off, neither she nor Jason would question it too closely.

But what she was about to do was widely--and, more importantly, by the Elders--considered black magic.

Grams took a deep breath. She knew she had no choice. If she didn't do it, Pru's destiny would be irreversibly altered, and then Piper and Phoebe, as well, would be unable to fulfill the destiny they were born for. With trembling hands, Penny Haliwail unfolded the sheet of paper and began to read…

* * *

_A little more than 12 years later…_

Setting aside the slide labeled _Piper Haliwail_ and jotting notes in the accompanying file, Dr. Becker prepared a slide of the next blood sample and labeled it, _Pamela Wright. _Adjusting the microscope slightly, the doctor thought at first that she must have made a huge mistake and taken the sample from the vial bearing Piper's name. Setting the slide aside and pealing off the label, she made sure to take the second sample from the proper vial.

This time when she saw how similar the samples were, she knew she could not be mistaken. As far as she knew, though, Piper Haliwail and twelve-year-old Pamela Wright weren't even acquainted, let alone related. It would be worth closer scrutiny, if she had the time later, Dr. Becker thought as she proceeded with the routine blood test for the child.

* * *

Sydney and Vaughn walked together, meeting up with first Weiss, and then Jack outside of Kendall's office. For Kendall to summon them all to his office as opposed to a conference room within the highly secure building meant something unusual was up. By unspoken agreement, everyone stood in silence until Kendall himself rose and handed them each a summary of a series of police reports. 

"I received these reports from the San Francisco PD one week ago. Someone inside the department noted that the names of the Haliwail sisters appeared on a very high number of witness lists of unsolved cases, mostly murders and disappearances. All three--Piper, Phoebe, and Paige--live together," Kendall said.

"I don't see what this has to do with the CIA," Jack interrupted, his voice coldly flat as usual.

"The unusual state of the murders the sisters acted as witnesses to would attract attention," Kendall said, then paused for effect. "But it is also known that no less than three law enforcement officials have cried 'witch' on the sisters. Now, I've worked closely with DSR on a few cases, and it's a safe bet that this is more in their jurisdiction than ours, but I want to know if there's anything for them to look at when they get there before I call them in."

"Director Kendall, surely you don't believe these women are really practicing some kind of magic?" Sydney demanded.

Kendall didn't bat an eye.

"The validity of a centuries-old prophet has been proved to the point that we look to him for answers and strive to beat criminal organizations to his artifacts. We should at least be open to the possibility that there are things beyond what we understand."

Vaughn sighed.

"What's the Op Tech?" he asked resignedly.

"You will evaluate how to advance when you reach San Francisco. Whatever the situation, Agent Weiss is to provide technical backup. You four are some of my best agents. If there is something the CIA or DSR should be aware of going on at the Haliwail manor, you four alone have the resources to find out what that it," Kendall said, an air of gravity pervading the room.

* * *

Reviews, please? I know this is completely separate right now, but the CIA operatives and the Haliwail sisters will meet up in the next chapter, and I think the results will be humorous. Please review, and I'll have the next chapter up soon! 


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Alias isn't mine. Charmed isn't mine. This is depressing…

A/N: Okay, I'm going to have to ask you to bear with me. I proofed this as I typed it, so I hope it doesn't wind up disjointed!

* * *

The drive to San Francisco seemed to take forever. A major traffic accident had traffic tied up for miles on end. Vaughn wondered to himself why he got traffic jams when he drove, and Sydney always got high speed chase. At least they'd gotten the sedan with a decent air conditioner; Jack and Weiss followed in a surveillance van with a highly ineffective air conditioning system. 

They talked little, but at least the silence was comfortable for the most part.

"I knew a girl in high school by the name Haliwail," Vaughn commented at one point, a kind of wistful affection in his voice at first. Then he frowned. "Her grandmother couldn't stand me. I still think she forced my parents to move somehow to keep me away from her granddaughter."

Sydney laughed.

"Can't imagine anyone disliking you that much," she teased.

Vaughn gave a self-depreciating grin.

"I went through a…well, a rebellious time from when I was about sixteen until I left for college," he commented dryly.

When they finally reached San Francisco, all four agents crowded into one of the four small hotel suits they'd been provided. Jack spread all the material they had on Piper, Phoebe, and Paige Haliwail out on the table and they each silently studied it.

"With all these unsolved murders, I think they should be presumed dangerous," Weiss commented finally.

Sydney shook her head.

"I think out best bet is to simply approach them. Get inside the manor." She looked to Vaughn for backup. "They'll have no reason to be hostile initially."

"If we go in with backup nearby, there's no reason it shouldn't work," Vaughn agreed.

"I don't like it," Jack said. "We've done no preliminary reconnaissance, this could be a trap. We could only be seeing the façade they show the world." He looked hard at Sydney. "You of all people should recognize that possibility."

"So act as backup," Sydney said, ignoring the rest of his comments. "I don't expect this to turn into anything; the sooner we make a move, the sooner we go home."

"This should be child's play," Vaughn added. He looked at his watch. "It's only five o'clock. I say we go now."

* * *

Piper answered the door curiously, Paige and Phoebe appearing in the entryway behind her. They were surprised to find two complete strangers outside. Piper observed that they simultaneously reached up to touch something on the lapel of their shirts. 

"Can I help you?" Piper asked carefully.

"We were looking for the Haliwail sisters," the woman said, flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder as if it was in her way.

Piper's gaze shifted from the speaker her companion, a handsome man with green eyes. Piper saw recognition flash in those eyes just as she recognized him.

"Pru…" he murmured under his breath as if unaware he spoke out loud.

At the sound of her lost sister's name, Piper froze the couple in front of her.

"What did he…" Phoebe began.

"One of Pru's old boyfriends!" Piper said in surprise. "The one Grams was so mad at when Pru was seventeen," she added to Phoebe.

"Well, what do you know?" Phoebe said, laughing. "Grams didn't vanquish his sorry butt after all. I wondered."

"I hate to put a damper on this reunion," Paige said sarcastically, glancing at the man in the doorway. "But it seems to me that old friends rarely show up on our doorstep--especially without knowing who we are, which he obviously didn't until he got here--without THEM having some reason behind it."

"Pru didn't even have her powers at seventeen," Piper protested.

"Why don't you unfreeze him so we can ask him?" Phoebe suggested the obvious.

Piper waved her hand. A look of confusion crossed their guests' faces.

"She," Sydney said, gesturing at Phoebe and speaking to Piper since she appeared to be the leader as well as the oldest, "Wasn't over there a second ago."

Vaughn pointed to the other side of Piper.

"She was standing there. And then she…blinked."

* * *

Blinked? Get it? Blinking is a warlock's power. And Vaughn accused Phoebe (unknowingly) of having a warlock's power! Lol. Yes, I'm sad, but I thought it was funny! 


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Charmed is not mine, Alias is not mine. Let's see, what else is not mine…the car I drive…the computer I used to type this…I've got to find a job. Then may be I'll have something to my name. But Charmed and Alias will still never be mine.

* * *

"The _CIA?_ What the hell does the CIA was with us?!?" Piper demanded, shooting to her feet.

Sydney glanced at Vaughn.

"We're not at liberty to state our position at the moments," Sydney said apologetically. She certainly wasn't going to say _The Director thinks you're witches…_

Piper might as well have snarled when the phone rang in the kitchen.

"You don't move!" she ordered in Sydney and Vaughn's general direction. "Hello?" she said a moment later, trying to tone her voice down to mildly miffed from pissed off and scared.

"Ms. Haliwail? This is Dr. Becker. I have the results from your blood test last week."

"And?" Piper tried to sound properly anxious, but all she managed was impatient. Her trip to the hospital had been the result of a demon attack, and Leo had healed her as soon as she'd been released.

"Good news. The test shows no lingering ill effects. I did notice something interesting, though. To your knowledge, are you related to a Pamela Wright?"

"No."

"Hmm. Well, I would have guessed she was a close blood relative. Merely a fluke, I guess. I'm certainly no expert on relation analysis."

To Piper's annoyance, the woman hung up before she could question her further. She stormed back into the living room, which had remained deathly quiet since she'd left.

Just as Piper sat down on the couch between her sisters, brilliant white-blue lights danced and swirled behind them. Sydney and Vaughn gaped, transfixed by the spectacle. A sound much like a whimper escaped Sydney's throat when a man appeared from the lights.

Piper leapt up, furious again.

"Leo, didn't you sense them?!?" she demanded, not even bothering to freeze them. "Oh, hell," she muttered. To Sydney and Vaughn, she added, "You move, I'll just freeze you."

"Honey, I'm sorry," Leo said, looking slightly panicked.

Even amid sensory overload, Sydney noticed Paige and Phoebe kept quiet, not jumping in between Piper and Leo.

"Should I try memory dust? How much do they know?" Leo asked, glancing at Sydney and Vaughn.

Finally finding it more than they were prepared to handle, Sydney and Vaughn fled. A nod, and Leo orbed out to watch them to prevent further damage to the magical world.

* * *

The attic, not for the first time, felt like it was closing in on her. Piper thumbed through the Book of Shadows--which she knew would hold no answers, as their problems were mortal--and listened to her sisters argue.

"They can't be allowed to run around with knowledge like this!" Phoebe snapped.

"If there is one thing I've learned since becoming a witch, it's that stuff like this happens for a reason," Paige argued. "I can't believe there's not a supernatural reason for Michael Vaughn appearing now!"

"What if he's our innocent? Knowledge like this could just as soon get him locked up as it could reveal us as witches!"

"What if he's our only link to our innocent?" Paige countered.

"Leo!" Piper yelled, struck by a sudden inspiration spawned by her sisters' arguing. "LEO!"

Lights danced again, and Leo appeared.

"What? Piper, I'm going to lose them if we're not careful," Leo warned.

"I got a call from my doctor earlier," Piper said, ignoring Leo's protest. She explained what Dr. Becker had said. "I think we should look at this. It may be an important connection to Michael Vaughn."

Leo nodded.

"I'll…"

"Wait. Why didn't you tell us about this, Piper?" Phoebe demanded.

"I don't know, we kinda had a _situation_ at the time," Piper reminded sarcastically.

"I'll check with the Elders," Leo said, orbing up quickly lest he be forced to choose sides.

"Paige, can you find the agents?" Piper asked.

"I might be able to track them through Leo," Paige replied.

"Try it."

A swirl of lights, and Paige was gone.

Piper snatched up the Book of Shadows to take it downstairs and charged out, Phoebe following and hoping Piper's mood was not going to result in an attack-your-sister session.

* * *

Sydney and Vaughn snuck into Sydney's hotel room, having already contacted Jack and Weiss to assure them they were fine, despite the lack of audio feed the other agents had expected. Both dropping onto the edge of the bed, Sydney and Vaughn tried to absorb what they'd just experienced.

"When we first got there," Sydney began. "They did something to us. The middle sister, Phoebe…maybe she did something."

"The guy, Leo. He appeared out of thin air. He wasn't in the file," Vaughn said.

"Do you think the one--Piper--do you think she froze us, like she said she could?" Sydney asked.

"If she did, she couldn't do that when I knew her. Piper was just a kid, and she loved to play tricks. If she could have frozen me, she would have."

"But you think it was real."

"I think so," Vaughn said in amazement.

"Scary thing is, I do too. Do we tell Dad and Weiss? They'll think we're bewitched," Sydney cracked.

"Not funny. And I say we keep this to ourselves. Jack has enough reasons to hate me, let's not help him add 'mental basket case' to his list."

"We tell them it was an uneventful meeting, then. Good thing we ditched the mikes," Sydney commented. She hadn't liked the idea that her father had felt the need to keep tabs on her, anyway.

Vaughn glanced around for the dozenth time since entering the room.

"What?" Sydney asked.

"Nothing, I guess. I've just felt like someone was watching me ever since we left that house. Something changed, though. Like whoever was watching is gone now."

* * *

You think that was good? Wait till the next chapter. Syd and Vaughn are about to have their hands full…hehehe…


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Nope, these characters aren't mine. 'Cept Pamela. And I think she leaves a lot to be desired, as far as a character goes, so far.

A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter, I hope ya'll enjoy it as much as I did! For some reason, I enjoy torturing Syd and Vaughn on Charmed territory…

* * *

"Of course we mean to go back," Sydney said, appalled that her father felt it necessary to ask.

"I'm going with you."

"_What_?"

"You both are hiding something," Jack said to Sydney and Vaughn. "It may or may not be related to the mission, but I want to form my own impressions of the Haliwail sisters."

Vaughn refrained--but just barely--from exchanging a look with Sydney.

"Fine," he said in a tone that told Sydney that he would get a kick out of Jack's reaction to that Leo dude.

"Right," Sydney agreed defiantly. "_We_ have nothing to hide."

Vaughn caught the emphasis on _we_. The Haliwails, good or bad, definitely had something to hide.

Showing up at 11:00 on a Friday morning, Jack didn't expect to find all three sisters at home. His game plan was to corner on of them alone, and get something out of her they wouldn't get if she had the support of her sisters.

Paige answered the door. After a moment, she stepped back to let them in.

"You came back," she addressed Sydney and Vaughn.

"How could we not?" Sydney said.

Paige just nodded. Before Jack could launch his interrogation, she called up the stairs to Piper.

"The agents are back." She turned back to Sydney, who seemed a tiny bit more receptive than the rest. "Who's he?"

"Agent Jack Bristow," Sydney said shortly.

Piper stopped on the landing of the stairs when she saw Jack. After a moment, she froze him but left Sydney and Vaughn.

"Who is he?!?" Piper snapped, continuing down the stairs. "We don't have time for this, Paige! Why did you let them in now?"

"He's another agent," Paige said impatiently. "And these agents aren't going to just go away."

"He insisted on coming," Vaughn supplied.

"Hey!" Sydney yelled suddenly. "What did you…" She paused, then spun around after snapping her fingers in front of Jack's face. "Unfreeze him!"

"I can't," Paige shrugged and pointed at Piper. "That's her thing."

"Don't worry," Piper said. "He's fine. Meanwhile, you two can explain why the CIA is interested in us…"

In a burst of flames, a huge red demon appeared behind the agents. Sydney screamed; she'd never seen anything so horrible looking. Vaughn dove to the side dragging Sydney with him and narrowly missing a fireball the demon hurled. The demon then proceeded to--without moving--fling Piper across the room and into Jack, breaking the freeze just long enough for him to register he was flying across the entryway before his head struck the banister.

"Phoebe!" Paige yelled. "We need that potion NOW!"

Phoebe appeared from the kitchen with a vial of some greenish liquid and hurled it at the demon.

Sydney screamed again when the demon erupted in flames and writhed in agony a few moments before it disappeared.

"Leo!" Phoebe yelled. "Are you okay?" she asked Paige.

Paige touched her arm gingerly where the fireball had grazed her.

"I'm fine," she waved Phoebe off. "Check on Piper and…_him_."

Sydney and Vaughn sprang up from where they crouched.

"Dad!" Sydney cried, kneeling next to Jack.

"He's your father?" Phoebe asked, and then yelled, "Leo!" without waiting for a response.

"We have to get him to a hospital!" Sydney said to Vaughn.

Phoebe put a hand on Vaughn's arm.

"Calm her down," she said softly. "Leo will heal her father."

Vaughn stared at her for a few moments, then nodded.

"Sydney." He took hold of Sydney's arm with one hand and put the other arm around her waist to pull her to her feet. "It'll be okay, Syd. Phoebe says Leo can heal him."

"Leo!"

Vaughn turned in time to see Leo…well, materialize, he supposed.

"Paige," Leo said, looking at her arm. "What happened?"

"Not me," Paige said, waving toward Piper and Jack. "Them."

"Piper!"

"Heal the guy first," phoebe said softly, gesturing at Sydney. "He's her father."

Sydney gasped as a golden light appeared between Leo's hands and the gasp on Jack's head.

"Dad!" she gasped when he started and sat up.

"Piper," Paige said after Leo had healed her and she'd regained her feet. "Could you do something with our newest agent? We need to discuss how to tell him how he came to be flying across the room."

"We may have more pressing matters," Leo said cryptically, glancing pointedly at Sydney and Vaughn, since Piper had already frozen Jack.

Piper sighed.

"Forget it. They're in too deep to worry about them now," she said.

"It's about Pru…" Leo warned. Piper nodded. "Pru was pregnant when she was seventeen," he began hesitantly. "Being the future Charmed Ones, the Elders always kept an eye on you three, even before you got your powers. The Elders said the baby simply disappeared. They don't know what happened."

Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Michael Vaughn's eyes go wide. She waved her hand, freezing Leo and Sydney, then grabbed Vaughn's wrist and began dragging him up the stairs.

"Keep them busy when the freeze wears off," Piper called over her shoulder to Paige and Phoebe.

"Wait…what…where…" Vaughn managed to stutter.

"Chill," Piper said. "We're going to get to the bottom of this…Grams knows what happened."

When Piper began to set up white candles in a circle, Vaughn tried again to get answers. This time, at least, he formed coherent questions.

"What are you doing? Why did you bring me up here? What was that guy talking about? Pru was pregnant?" Vaughn spit out a string of questions.

"We're going to find out," Piper said, opening a think, ancient-looking book with a strange emblem on the front. She then muttered something about a spirit, and the Great Divide.

Vaughn jumped three feet in the air and spun around to face the circle of candles when, from within the circle, a voice cried affectionately, "Piper!"

Piper smirked.

"Grams."

* * *

I hate to cut this off here, but to keep the chapter the right length I had to split up this scene. I mean, this is already the longest chapter yet…


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: These brilliant characters are not my creations. My creations always seem to take on such a life of their own, they refuse to do what I tell them, and they mess my stories all up…

* * *

Vaughn stared open-mouthed at the transparent woman standing within the circle of candles.

"Agent Vaughn," Piper said sarcastically, "I'm sure you remember Grams. I believe she threatened your life once or twice."

"An _agent_!" Grams cried, spitting the word out as if it tasted vile. "Dear, the last officer of the law I encountered, I believe, required Cole to retrieve him from Timbuktu." The rest of her granddaughter's words sank in. "What do you mean I threatened him?" Her eyes narrowed exactly as Piper's had earlier.

"Grams, this is Michael Vaughn." Piper said nothing more, and was well aware when her Grams' eyes flashed in recognition.

"You!" Grams hissed at Vaughn. "I warned you what would happen if you ever laid eyes on one of my girls again!"

She raised her arms, and Piper moved in front of Vaughn protectively, unsure of what her dead grandmother was capable of. She raised her own hands stop sign fashion.

"Whoa, whoa, stop," she said quickly. "Trust me, Grams, he had no idea what he was doing. But that's not why I summoned you." She stopped again to take in Grams' reaction.

"Well, what did you want? And did you really do magic in front of that agent?" Grams demanded.

"Yes, and I froze him, and Phoebe vanquished a demon in front of him. Now." She folded her hands in front on her. "We know about Pru's pregnancy."

"What did you do to her?" Vaughn demanded, having momentarily recovered from the fact that he was talking to a potentially dangerous specter.

Grams peered down her nose at him.

"Always were mouthy, weren't you?" she commented.

"Grams…" Piper warned.

"Oh, all right," Grams relented, casting another disdainful look at Vaughn. "When I realized Pru was pregnant--I was always very close to my girls," she added for Vaughn. "And I had a sense for these things--but anyway, I simply…_transferred_ the problem to a friend who was only too willing to accept it."

"You had no right!" Vaughn fumed. "I should have been told…"

"Pru never knew she was pregnant," Piper said confidently, her voice soft in contrast to Vaughn's. "What did you do? Was it a spell, a potion…?"

Grams sighed.

"I might as well start at the beginning. See, I was close to a couple who was trying very hard to have children--and no one could have been more deserving than Clarissa and Jason--but they simply couldn't conceive. Now, when I found out, Pru was only three weeks alone, hadn't even begun to expect it herself. I was very close to Clarissa, and I knew she'd have no problem carrying the child to term. Slipped Pru a power binding potion--for the baby, you know, just in case--and…well, _transferred_ the baby to Clarissa."

Even revealing this earth shattering information, Grams managed to simultaneously express disdain for Vaughn and make it seem as if magically transferring an unborn baby was the most natural thing in the world.

"I…was…was the baby _mine_?!?" Vaughn gasped.

Grams appeared ready to magically throttle him.

"My Pru may have been a little confused in high school, but she was not a _slut_, Michael Vaughn!" Grams huffed.

"Grams," Piper warned. "You know he didn't mean it like that. Clarissa and Jason…do you know where they are now?

Grams looked over her should, seeing another world in another plane that Piper and Vaughn couldn't see.

"The rules, dear. I've already said too much," Grams said, almost apologetically.

"Don't you dare!" Vaughn shouted, having lost the fear of this spirit he'd possessed a moment ago. "Don't you dare tell me I have a child and refuse to tell me where that child is!"

Piper put a restraining had on his shoulder.

"Grams, tell me where Clarissa and Jason Wright are now," Piper said, hoping to trick her grandmother into telling her if she was looking in the right direction.

Grams looked back again.

"I can't, dear." Then her eyes narrowed. "But I never said their name was Wright."

"No, you didn't. Thanks, Grams," Piper said, her voice containing something bordering on insolent sarcasm.

Shouting was heard from downstairs.

"Oh, no…" Piper murmured. Leo and Sydney would not be happy about being frozen, and Jack would be entirely unstable. "We've got to go, Grams." She dragged Vaughn behind her. "Not a word of this to your friends," she warned. "I can't trust them yet."

"But…" Vaughn protested as he followed her down the stairs. "How do we find the child?"

"Later. Not now. Now, you convince your partner you're okay. She's doing most off the yelling, it sounds like," Piper commented.

They reached the bottom of the stairs in time to see Sydney fly backward after being kicked by Phoebe and to hear Paige yell, "Gun!" before Jack could use it on them.

"Syd!" Vaughn rushed forward and caught her just before she hit the floor.

Phoebe slipped out of her fighting stance, and Paige clicked the safety on the gun and came to stand by Phoebe. Piper froze Jack for good measure; she felt the less he heard, the better.

Phoebe shrugged sheepishly under Piper's glare.

"When I said to keep them busy, this isn't exactly what I had in mind," Piper noted, glancing over at Leo who stood pretty much where she'd left him, since he hadn't known what else to do but stand there.

"They started it," Phoebe said weakly.

Sydney kind of clung to Vaughn, while keeping a wary eye focused in Phoebe's direction; that woman knew how to fight.

"Where did you go?" Sydney asked Vaughn in a whisper.

Vaughn cast a glance at Piper, and sighed. He hated to lie to Sydney.

"Piper and I were just…contacting someone about a…an aspect of the case," he said.

Sydney gave him a look; it wasn't like him to evade her questions. Surely he'd tell her later, though.

"Leo," Piper said. "We found out some more about Pamela Wright. She's the daughter of…" She cast a warning look at Vaughn. "Clarissa and Jason Wright. I think the first step is to find out what we can about them."

Leo nodded.

"Who's your source? Why was it so important for you to contact them that you had to freeze me?" he asked, clearly irritated that his wife had frozen him.

"Grams," Piper said easily, casting another glance at Vaughn. "And…I think memory dust is in order for _that _one," she added, hooking her thumb at Jack.

Leo nodded again.

"I think that's a good idea. Can you handle him until I get back, or should I take him with me?" Leo inquired.

"You aren't taking my father anywhere!" Sydney snapped, daring Leo to take even a step toward Jack.

Leo held up his hands; he had no doubt this woman could do some serious damage if he was stupid enough to piss her off. He looked to the sisters.

"Go on," Paige said. "We've got him."

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "He's fine."

Leo nodded as he disappeared in his swirly blue lights.

Sydney shivered.

"I can't get used to that," she explained. "Who are Clarissa and Jason Wright? Why are they important to this?" she added, looking expectantly at Vaughn, who had his arm protectively around her shoulders.

To Sydney's surprise, Vaughn turned toward Piper.

"We might as well catch everybody up," he pleaded. "They might be far enough away to see something we're missing."

"What is going on here?" Paige asked at the same time Sydney said, "Catch us up on what?"

"Fine," Piper said. "You're right." She ushered them all into the living room, where Jack stood still frozen. "But he stays frozen."

"Good," Vaughn said. "He can't stand me anyway, he doesn't need another reason."

"What if I want him unfrozen?" Sydney challenged. "How do I know you're not hurting him?"

"Too bad," Piper said. "You just have to trust us."

Sydney looked ready to jump Piper from behind.

"Syd," Vaughn said. "She stopped her grandmother from…from blowing me to bits, I think. They're not out to hurt us."

Sydney indicated Phoebe.

"She sure packs a hell of a kick for the non-violent type."

Phoebe pretended not to hear her.

* * *

Can't ya'll (meaning Alias fans, as well as Charmed fans…) just see Syd and Jack unfreezing and attacking the closest thing that moves when they realize they've been frozen, and that Vaughn and Piper are gone? I can! Hey, at least I'm not totally torturing them anymore!


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Alias and Charmed do not belong to me. They belong to some rich bigwig somewhere whom I'll never come close to competing with, and therefore Alias and Charmed will never belong to me.

* * *

Paige considered herself to be adept at judging people. She put that skill to use as she listened to Piper explain about Pru and Michael, and Pamela Wright. She'd certainly bet Michael, with his bright green eyes, was more than just a partner to Agent Sydney Bristow. The woman's entire demeanor changed when Piper and Vaughn had begun to explain about his relationship with Pru. And the way Vaughn couldn't meet her eyes spoke volumes about how he felt discussing this in front of her.

Sydney didn't deserve to hear this man had a child by another woman. Let alone that the child had been transferred to another woman's womb and was now seemingly untraceable.

"So what can we do until Leo gets back?" Sydney asked, surprising everyone with her apparent willingness to jump right into the mess. "Vaughn and I can't really utilize CIA resources without alerting Weiss."

"Weiss?" Phoebe asked before Piper got to it.

"Another agent here with us," Vaughn said. "He doesn't suspect anything. Jack Bristow is just suspicious by nature."

"We could try scribing," Paige suggested.

"We don't have anything to scribe with," Piper reminded her. "What about the Calling a Lost Witch spell?"

"We don't know that she _is_ a witch," Phoebe said. "And the power-binding potion may not have worn off yet, so it probably wouldn't work."

"She's a blood relative, maybe I can sense her," Paige said.

"Try."

Paige closed her eyes and concentrated, then wrinkled her nose in frustration.

"Nothing."

"What about the Blood to Blood spell?" Piper said. "It worked for Paige."

"But I'm an adult, with my own means of transportation," Paige said. "This is a little girl. She's what, ten?"

"About twelve," Vaughn and Piper said together.

"A twelve-year-old little girl isn't just going to show up on our doorstep," Phoebe agreed.

"Anyone have a better idea?" Piper said. "We can rewrite the spell so that we're drawn to her. It's worth a shot."

"Is that all it is? Just a spell?" Sydney asked dubiously. She couldn't help it, thought; she was starting to trust these women.

"A complicated ritual and a spell," Piper clarified. "Who should we cast the spell on?" she asked her sisters.

"Him," Phoebe said after a moment, gesturing at Vaughn. "He's not a witch, but he's still blood."

"I don't know," Vaughn said, backing away slightly.

"No…I think it's a good idea," Piper said. "You'll have the least conflicting instincts."

"Agents have _very_ strong instincts," Sydney defended. "And you three are the witches. Use your damn spell on yourselves."

Vaughn nodded hesitantly.

"I think they might be right," he said thoughtfully. "They're all blood related, so technically that could interfere with their instincts. Right?" he asked.

"Possibly," Phoebe said. "If you're willing to try it, you might be our best bet."

"I'll do it."

"I'll get a sleeping potion for him," Paige said, nodding to Jack. "Piper can't maintain a freeze from a distance. It's harmless, though," she assured Sydney.

"Vaughn, you can' be serious," Sydney hissed. "They seem credible, sure, and they definitely have powers, but to let them put some hocus-pocus spell on you!"

"Come on, Syd, they've had plenty of chances to hurt us, and they haven't," he reminded. "And I have a _child _somewhere. I have to do something to find her, Syd, and we can't exactly tell Weiss about this."

"Okay," she said softly. "Be careful, Vaughn."

He kissed her cheek gently.

"It'll be okay. But you know I have to do this," he whispered.

* * *

Sydney watched nervously as Piper threw a pinch of some green leafy stuff into the cauldron, and a puff of smoke billowed up.

"Phoebe, do you have the spell ready?" Piper asked.

Phoebe ripped a page from a legal pad and handed it to Piper.

"Stick close to Sydney," Piper whispered so that only Phoebe could hear her. "She's not going to like this part."

Phoebe nodded and stood next to Sydney.

"Michael, come here," Piper ordered. "Give me your hand."

Vaughn held out his hand palm up. Sydney lunged forward protectively when Piper picked up a large dagger, but Phoebe caught her. Vaughn winced as Piper sliced the palm of his hand with the tip of the dagger, but made no move to pull away. She closed his hand into a fist until a single drop of blood dripped into the cauldron.

Piper read the spell in a low voice, and Sydney didn't catch all the words, but there was something about letting the pull of blood to blood guide you.

"Now what?" Vaughn asked a few moments later as Sydney took it upon herself to wrap his still-bleeding hand in a strip of gauze.

"We wait," Piper said.

"Leo can heal his hand when he gets back," Piper said to Sydney, who paused in wrapping Vaughn's hand.

"Oh…right…I just…" Sydney seemed so completely out of her element.

Vaughn put his arm around her.

"I'm fine," he assured her.

She took a moment to collect herself, and the sisters could swear they saw her spine stiffen.

"What happens when the spell takes effect?" Sydney asked.

The women exchanged glances.

"We're not sure," Phoebe admitted. "It may not even work. Michael may not be able to handle the effects. Or, he could…"

"Could what?" Vaughn asked. "If I'm going to disappear, I deserve a little advanced warning," he joked.

"Well, it is possible," Piper said.

"What?!? Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Because," Paige muttered. "Innocents generally don't take well to being told they're going to disappear."

"Innocents?" Sydney asked skeptically. Over the years, she'd heard agents of the CIA called a lot of things, but innocent wasn't among them.

"Mortals," Phoebe supplied. "Non-magical people."

"Really, what are the chances of me just…poofing?" Vaughn asked, an anxious tone in his voice now. "Or ending up in Timbuktu?"

"Timbuktu?" Sydney repeated. "Where does that come in at?"

"It rhymed with 'undo'," Piper smirked. "And we really don't know what will happen."

Just then, Leo orbed in. Sydney jumped, then huffed out an irritated sigh.

"What'd the Elders say?" Paige asked.

"Clarissa and Jason Wright died in a car crash five years ago," Leo said quickly. "The Elders said Pamela has been in and out of at least a dozen foster homes since then, but they wouldn't say why."

"Great," Piper said. "My guess would be that type of environment wasn't particularly conductive to an accepting child."

"The Elders also saw you cast the spell on the agent," Leo said. "They're highly upset about it. They wanted me to warn you that the results of casting that spell on a mortal can be very unpredictable, and if he…well, he could be difficult to trace."

Leo obviously didn't want to spook Vaughn by telling him he might disappear. A little late for that, but Vaughn appreciated the thought.

"Great." Vaughn shook his head. "Now I'm going to disappear, _and_ nobody's going to be able to find me."

Sydney looked horrified.

"Leo, can you take the other agent somewhere safe, so we don't have to worry about him? After you erase his memory, I mean. He's on the couch in the living room. Paige's sleeping potion," Piper explained. "You know where the extra potions are kept if you think he'll need it."

"Sure. You might want to come up with some reason for his massive headache when he wakes up," Leo told Sydney and Vaughn. "And for his lack of memory. This isn't an exact science, you know, there's no telling how much I'll erase."

Sydney turned anxious eyes to the heavens as if pleading for someone to tell her this was all a dream.

* * *

Hehehe. Now, what's going to happen to poor Agent Vaughn? I know, I know, I'm torturing him again, but I can't help it. And the idea of someone just orbing Jack Bristow out of the way was just too tempting to resist. But Sydney and Vaughn get more involved in the action, soon. Of course, they naturally have to be involved in saving the day. It's just not Alias if they aren't!


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: It's not mine. Leave me alone!

* * *

"How do we excuse your father's absence to Weiss?" Vaughn asked as he and Sydney walked up to their hotel.

"He wanted to stake out the manor," Sydney said. "He only wants to keep an eye on them, so he doesn't need or want backup. Weiss knows him, he'll believe it."

Weiss never questioned the stakeout story when they knocked on his door to tell him they were back.

"I still don't think there's anything there," Vaughn said. "But you know Jack Bristow. It seems too easy."

"Vaughn," Sydney said a few minutes later when they stood outside her suit's door. "May be you shouldn't be alone tonight. I mean, the spell…"

"Worried about me?" Vaughn asked in a tone of gentle teasing. "If you want to stay with me, just in case…I'm sure we can work something out." He gave her a lopsided grin.

Sydney grinned back.

"Just in case, she murmured as Vaughn shut the door behind them with one foot.

* * *

Sydney rolled over in her sleep, only to find the bed beside her empty.

"Mmm…Vaughn?" she mumbled. When there was no answer, her senses went on full alert. "Vaughn?" she called again, louder.

Sydney flipped on the lamp by the bed and saw Vaughn's clothes were missing from the chair they'd been on earlier. She hurried to pull on jeans under her short nightshirt and prayed she didn't meet anybody.

She reached the parking lot just in time to see Vaughn get into the car they'd driven down in. Relieved, she hurried to climb into the passenger side.

"Vaughn, you scared me," she said. "Where are you going?"

No response. Vaughn didn't even seem to know she was there.

"Vaughn? Vaughn!" Sydney experienced a moment of panic when Vaughn started the car and backed out, all while seemingly comatose.

Scared to death that Vaughn was going to plow into something, Sydney sat in the car while he drove along the deserted city streets. She chattered nervously the entire time, hoping her voice would somehow snap him out of the trance he was in. an excruciating fifteen minutes later, he pulled up in front of a sizable house and got out.

"Vaughn," Sydney called, scrambling after him when she realized he was getting out. "Where are you going? It's after midnight. You can't go in there!"

Vaughn headed straight for the front door. On the railing on the porch, Sydney noticed a small, discreet sign that read, "Westside Group Home," and gave the address.

"Vaughn!" Sydney yelled in a final attempt. "I'm sorry," she murmured right before she landed a solid kick square in his chest that sent him toppling back off the porch before he could endeavor to open the front door.

He landed with a thud and a muffled "Oof!" that Sydney rejoiced to hear. It was the first noise he'd made since he'd left the hotel.

"What the hell?!?" he exclaimed a moment later.

"Vaughn!" Sydney cried, kneeling next to him. "Oh, God, you're back."

"Back?"

"The spell! It's like you were in a trance," Sydney murmured, holding his close as they huddled on the damp grass on the front lawn of people they'd never even seen.

"Come on," she said finally, helping him to his feet. "Let's go back. You really scared me."

"How'd we get here?" Vaughn asked, looking around and committing every detail to memory.

"You drove."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"You think she's here?"

"She must be. You were going inside before I kicked you."

"You kicked me?"

"It was that or let you walk into a group home with who knows how many kids inside."

"Thanks."

* * *

"What?!?"

"You heard me," Sydney said. "We could have both been killed, you know."

"Syd, come on, nothing happened. Give them a break," Vaughn said.

"But you found her?" Phoebe asked.

"We think so." Sydney nodded.

"Can you get back there?" Paige asked.

"I don't know. I have the address."

"She's be in school," Paige commented. "If we find the school in that area, I might be able to convince someone to let me talk to her."

So, forty-five minutes later, Paige was standing in the office of a local middle school.

"I need to speak with a student here, Pamela Wright," she told the secretary.

"Oh, you're the social worker," the woman said thankfully. "Pamela has been sitting in the principal's office for nearly an hour. She's very upset over something, and she won't say a word. Her teacher says she knocked over a desk, caused quite a mess."

"Oh." Paige paused. "Can I speak with her privately for a few minutes?"

"Oh, sure, sure. She's right through there." The woman waved up a little hall at the door on the end.

Paige walked into the room after knocking softly, hoping briefly that the real social worker remained tied up for a while.

"Pamela?" Paige said. She paused in surprise when she saw her. Pamela had Pru's straight, dark hair, paired with Michael Vaughn's striking green eyes.

Pamela only glanced up briefly, and Paige could see she'd been crying.

"Hi." Paige pulled the second chair over closer to the one Pamela sat in. "My name is Paige. You're Pamela, right?"

"Yes." The girl's voice cracked, but held a distinctly defiant note.

"Pamela, I want to help you," Paige said gently. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"No." Pamela drew her knees up to her chin and huddled in her chair, clearly afraid. After a moment, she added, "It wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault, sweetie?" Paige reached out a hand to comfort, but Pamela shrank away.

"No!" Her voice shook. "Don't touch me!"

"I don't want to hurt you, Pamela…"

"I can't stop it! Don't touch me! I don't mean to do it, but I can't stop it!"

"Do _what_, sweetie?"

"No!" Pamela whined pitifully. "No!" She began to shake. "No!"

A framed picture of a man and a woman fell off the desk and the glass broke.

"No!" Pamela sobbed. "No, please! You have to leave!" she shouted at Paige.

A clay bowl flew across the room and shattered on the wall above Paige's head.

* * *

Hehehe…well, now Paige knows Pamela has powers… 


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Neither show here depicted is, in any way, shape, or form, mine.

* * *

Pamela screamed.

"Pamela," Paige said soothingly. "Pamela, close you eyes and take a deep breath. Just clam down."

When Paige sat silently, and made no move to leave, Pamela's sobbing gradually eased.

"You're not afraid," Pamela said, suspicion evident in her terrified voice.

"You don't want to hurt me," Paige said, and shrugged.

"I don't want to do any of it. I don't want to break things," Pamela whimpered.

"I know you don't. Can you tell me what happened now?" Paige asked calmly, as if the randomly flying objects were normal and not worth noticing.

"I was afraid I would hurt someone…" Pamela trailed off.

"And?"

"And I just…everything happened at once. I couldn't stop it…" She looked at Paige to see if she believed her.

"Why were you afraid you would hurt someone? Were you mad?"

"A guy said my parents…he said they probably abandoned me." She gritted her teeth angrily. "They didn't abandon me. They loved me. It was an _accident_…"

"And you were afraid you'd make something hit him," Paige said as several objects in the room began to tremble as if they, too, might take flight.

Pamela's lower lip trembled.

"I can't stop it."

"You can. You just have to learn."

"No. I can't do it."

Paige smiled.

"I had to learn," she said. "Watch. _Pencil_."

In a swirl of blue lights, the pencil on the desk disappeared, then reappeared in another bunch of lights in Paige's hand.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" Pamela asked, a hereditary curiosity lighting in her eyes.

Paige shrugged.

"The same way you make things move, I guess," she said. "Try. Concentrate on something, then move it. Try the pencil," she said, holding it out in the palm of her hand.

"I can't."

"It can't hurt to try, right?" Paige said reassuringly.

A noise in the front office caught Paige's ear, and she dropped the pencil.

"Oh no…" she murmured. "Pamela, this is important. I was never here, okay? You never saw me."

"What? Wait, you…"

"I'll see you again. But I was never here."

Pamela gaped as Paige herself disappeared in a swirl of blue lights, just before the door flew open with the secretary fuming.

* * *

Paige orbed into the car in the parking lot where her sisters sat in the back, and Sydney and Vaughn sat in the front.

"She's definitely a witch," Paige said, reaching up to pick bits of clay bowl out of her hair. "She's telekinetic."

"Did you orb in front of her?" Phoebe asked in surprise.

"It was that or get caught as a fraud by the secretary and a social worker," Paige commented. "Apparently, she can't control it at all, either." She plunked a large chunk of clay out of her hair. "I only hope she tells them what I said to. I told her to tell them she never saw me."

"What if that gets her in trouble?" Vaughn demanded.

"Oh, she's in trouble already," Paige said. "She flipped a desk in class, and the school called a social worker rather than deal with her. So it's probably happened before anyway."

"Are you saying my daughter is a juvenile delinquent?" Vaughn asked.

"No. I'm saying she's a young witch coming into a power she doesn't understand," Paige retorted. "I don't think you understand, either."

"No," Vaughn admitted. "I'm more lost that she is, probably. When can I see her?"

"I don't know," Paige said. "I can sense her now. When there's a chance, I'll orb you."

"Orb? Me? No."

"It's your only option?" Piper commented.

"I don't orb."

"You do now," Paige said.

"I'd like to meet her, too," Sydney commented.

"We need to give her time to adjust. The fewer people the first time j orb in on her, the better," Paige decided.

"May be you should go alone the first time," Phoebe suggested.

"I think she's right," Vaughn agreed eagerly. "I'd probably scare her, if I orbed…"

"May be I could orb her back to the manor for a little while?" Paige suggested.

"On your judgment," Piper said. "Don't orb her there if she'll be missed, please. She's in no danger where she's at. Bringing her to the manor may prove risky."

* * *

I just love foreshadowing, don't you? And, for Alias-only fans, the manor is known to be the place where most of the demon attacks on the Haliwails occur. That's all Piper refers to in that last comment. 


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Nope, it's not mine.

* * *

Five o'clock that night found Pamela locked in the small single room the people running the group home had set up for her. Experience had proven that things were much…calmer with Pamela by herself. Though she'd come in and locked herself away out of fear of hurting someone many times before, this time she was making an attempt to gain some control over her power, a feat she'd never even contemplated before.

After an hour of trying unsuccessfully to move a pencil, Pamela was quickly becoming discouraged. She couldn't understand how big things--_heavy _things--moved when she didn't want them to, yet she couldn't move a pencil when she tried.

She barely swallowed back a scream when bright blue lights danced in front of her.

"Hi," Paige said cheerfully, keeping her voice low. "Told you I'd be back."

Pamela frowned.

"How do you do that?" she asked.

Paige just shook her head.

"When I figure it out, I'll let you know." She joined Pamela on the bed like a lifelong friend. "How'd things go after I left?"

"I swore I'd never seen you. I don't think the secretary believed me, but what could she do?" Pamela said with a shrug. "Why can't I make things move when I want to?"

"Your power is probably tied to your emotions, like all Hal-…like a lot of witches' are," Paige recovered. There was no need for her to reveal Pamela's confusing heritage yet; that should be Vaughn's job anyway. "You get mad, and you don't really have much control over your power. But you haven't learned to access it any other way yet."

Pamela realized Paige had changed her mind about saying something, but she let it slip. She was more anxious to learn to control what Paige kept calling a power.

"How _do_ I access it?"

"Just concentrate on moving the object. Picture it moving like you want," Paige coached softly, soothingly. Pamela closed her eyes. "Don't think about anything else."

The pencil sitting on the tiny nightstand shuddered for a moment, then dropped to the floor.

"That wasn't what I wanted it to do," Pamela pouted.

"But it moved," Paige comforted.

Pamela considered that for a few beats, then decided she was content with it.

"How do I stop from hurting people? Every time I get mad, I hurt someone or break something," Pamela worried.

"You'll learn. Just try to stay calm until you learn some control. I know you don't mean to hurt anything," Paige said, winning over her young companion permanently.

For two years, since the strange occurrences had commenced, all Pamela had heard was that she had to stop being destructive, that she shouldn't be such an angry child, that she must enjoy hurting things or she wouldn't do it. Paige was the first person to consider that Pamela may not know how to stop what was happening, let alone to have the undoubting faith that Pamela didn't want to hurt anyone. And Paige even talked to her, without the condescending tone that all the state appointed councilors had used when she'd been removed from foster home after foster home.

Paige only stayed for about half an hour, for fear of being discovered. But when she orbed out, she felt Pamela had a considerably better outlook on things just then.

* * *

Vaughn jumped six feet in the air when Paige orbed in behind him--about half as high as Sydney jumped.

"Don't _do_ that!" Sydney hissed in a high voice, frustration evident. She was an agent; she shouldn't be so easily spooked.

"Sorry," Paige said.

"Did you find her?" Vaughn asked as soon as his scattered wits returned.

A good CIA agent's wits returned swiftly and completely, like the ashes of a Lazarus demon.

"Of course," Paige said. "She's a twelve-year-old little girl. You make it sound like a challenge to track her. Plus, she was trying to use her power, so all I had to do was follow that trail."

Vaughn and Sydney merely stared.

"Okay," Piper broke in, ushering the befuddled agents into the kitchen where they could gather around the small breakfast table. "Paige, Michael didn't mean it that way, and you know it. And you knew that explanation would mean absolutely nothing to him. Just tell him what happened."

Paige sighed.

"Right." She turned to Vaughn with a vague smile that gave away her own affection for the child. "I already told you she was trying to use her power. She wants to learn to control it so bad, but I think she's too scared of it to tap into it intentionally. She talked to me a little, and she's more scared of hurting anybody than anything else."

Vaughn appeared to be drinking in every tidbit of information.

"What else?" he begged eagerly.

Sydney grinned to see him. The look on Vaughn's face was one of enraptured awe as he listened to Paige describe every nuance of Pamela's personality she could remember, or that could be gleaned from the few minutes spent in her company.

* * *

"Where have you been?" a frantic Weiss demanded as he met Sydney and Vaughn in he hall before they could escape into their rooms. "How can I provide backup if nobody gives me a status report _all day_!?"

Vaughn grinned.

"Man, I told you there was nothing going on over there," he said lightly. "I didn't think you'd worry."

"What'd you _do_ for so long if there's nothing there?" Weiss persisted.

"The sisters were giving us their side of the story. They're just some smart women with an incredible bad luck for getting caught in the middle of some rough spots," Vaughn lied. "You know, several statements they've given lead to an arrest. SFPD didn't include those files, but they checked out."

Weiss seemed placated, but only for a moment. He pushed on to other topics.

"Where's Jack?"

Sydney took her cue and shook her head.

"You know my dad. He wants to keep an eye on the Haliwails just in case they try to contact or warn somebody of our involvement, so he's staked out across the street," Sydney patronized.

Weiss relented and finally retreated to his own room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Vaughn pulled Sydney into his room with him.

"What if Weiss tries to contact Jack?" he demanded.

"What if Weiss asks to look at the statements you allegedly verified?" Sydney shot back. Then she softened. "Look, Vaughn, I trust them. I do. But you only have their word that the statements led to arrests, and it's too risky to pass their word off to Weiss as verified."

Vaughn, too, quickly lost his surly edge.

"I know. I just can't help but try to get Weiss not to judge them so harshly. They do a lot…" eh finished thoughtfully.

"I don't doubt them. What excuse are we going to use to go back tomorrow?" Sydney asked.

"We'll say Jack called you and wants us to question them some more."

"Weiss might be suspicious."

"Not of us."

"No. Of them."

"We'll take care of it. Paige said she's orb Pamela back to the manor tomorrow," Vaughn said to change the subject.

"Well," Sydney said. "I suggest we hope she doesn't freeze people like her aunty Piper, or fight like Phoebe. We might have a hard time with what Paige has described as a _sweet little girl_."

* * *

Won't they be surprised? Of course, Vaughn doesn't imagine a twelve-year-old would be capable of beating _him_, a hardened CIA agent, in hand to hand…or, something that resembles it, anyway…


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Alias and Charmed do not belong to me. Deal with it. I am. Sort of. Anyway…

* * *

"I don't think we should reveal our relation to her yet," Phoebe said, watching Vaughn warily.

"What?!?" Vaughn promptly exploded.

Piper stood and pushed Vaughn back into his seat on the couch.

"She was old enough to remember her parents, Michael," Piper said gently. "She knows, I'm sure, how her parents died. If you tell her you're her father, just like that, she'll be scared to death. She'll be scared of _you_."

"You don't want that, Vaughn," Sydney soothed, her hand on his arm. "I think you should just be her friend until she's ready to hear this kind of thing."

"She'll never be ready to hear it," Paige broke in. "But she can be prepared. Once she's been introduced to our world, she'll be marginally more receptive to the news that her parents aren't her biological parents."

"How are you going to introduce her to _anything_ if she doesn't understand she's a part of it?" Vaughn demanded.

"Her power, Michael," Piper said. "She'll feel a part of us because of her power."

"There's something about being the Charmed Ones," Phoebe explained. "Some indefinable link that ties us together. Pamela is a part of that; she'll feel it as surely as Piper and Paige and I do."

Vaughn shook his head.

"I can't dispute that, and you knew it," he accused Phoebe.

"But it's true," Phoebe argued.

"But I can't argue against that!"

"Which means you should have nothing else to say."

"IF it's so true, why do you have to keep arguing?"

"Hey!" Sydney and Piper yelled simultaneously. Then they just stared at each other, mentally circling like wolves. Both women were the take-charge type, and neither liked her position threatened.

"I'm going to see if I can sneak Pamela back here," Paige announced, then promptly orbed out, leaving Phoebe and Vaughn to referee Sydney and Piper.

* * *

Pamela jumped and toppled a chair--on the other side of the room--when Paige orbed into the room.

"You scared me!" Pamela accused in a harsh whisper.

"Why are you whispering? You didn't yesterday," Paige whispered back.

"Because it's _Saturday,_" Pamela hissed as if to say "_Duh."_ "Everybody's here today."

Paige grinned.

"Oh. Well, how'd you like to come back to my house with me so we don't have to whisper?"

"Cool!"

"When will you be missed?"

Pamela glanced at the clock, which read a few minutes after two.

"Not until dinner. Around six," she added.

Paige held out a hand.

"Left's go, then. It'll feel a little weird until you get used to it."

"Used to what?" Pamela managed to ask before Paige orbed, taking Pamela with her.

* * *

They landed in the middle of the living room of the manor. Paige had realized mid-orb that she'd failed to mention there were four people waiting to meet Pamela, so she'd quickly redirected them into the living room, left empty since everyone else was in the kitchen.

Or so Paige had thought.

"Hi," Vaughn said from behind them while Pamela was still reeling from the orb.

The girl gasped and spun around, accidentally sending Vaughn flying across the room. He hit and slid down the wall, bringing a picture with him, until he landed on an end table, which proceeded to crumble beneath him.

"Oh!" Paige gasped, rushing over to check on Vaughn.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Pamela cried helplessly.

Piper, Phoebe, and Sydney charged in, frightening Pamela further. Piper flew backwards into Phoebe, who landed on Sydney, and they all landed in a heap just inside the doorway.

"Leo!" Paige called, shaking her head. "LEO!"

Pamela was crying and confused, her eyes darting back and forth across the mayhem that had been the Haliwail's living room.

Leo appeared just in front of Pamela with his back to her, and he, too, hit the wall, but managed to retain consciousness, and he missed pictures and flimsy tables.

"Heal him!" Paige said to Leo when he'd regained his feet, and she went to calm Pamela.

"No!" Pamela screeched. "Stay away!" She threw her hands out, and Paige couldn't move forward. It was as if Pamela had thrown up a force field along with her hands.

Leo healed Vaughn, and he leapt to his feet, trying to discern one disaster from the other. Seeing Sydney emerging--though somewhat slowly--from the heap in the doorway and not wanting to think about how they got there, Vaughn focused his attention on Pamela.

"Pamela, you're okay," he said finally, unsure of what _to_ say. "You…you didn't hurt anything."

"I did!" Pamela cried, but she dropped her hands. "I hurt you! I don't even know who you _are_!" she sobbed.

Vaughn moved forward, slowly decreasing the distance between himself and his daughter, who could probably break his neck without even meaning to.

"Look at me," Vaughn challenged. "I'm not hurt." He'd figure out why that was later. Last he remembered, he was hitting that wall _really _hard. "Pamela, you didn't hurt me. You're okay."

"I'm sorry," Pamela said softly, her voice breaking.

Vaughn got close enough to put a hand on Pamela's shoulder, and when she didn't pull away, he hugged her.

Sydney came up behind Vaughn and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she mumbled. "I was so scared…"

Pamela gave a little cry and pulled away.

Sydney smiled apologetically and put her hand on Pamela's shoulder.

"Pamela, I'm not a witch. I'm not scared of you because I think you want to hurt anybody. You scare me because you can do something I don't understand. I don't understand what Paige does, or Piper or Phoebe, either," Sydney said, gesturing at the three of them who now stood off to one side. "But I trust them. And I trust you didn't meant to hurt anybody."

""I'm sorry about your stuff," Pamela said to Paige, pointing at the destroyed table.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Paige jumped in with a smile. "We go through a lot of tables around here."

Pamela looked at Paige in confusion.

"Piper and Phoebe are…"Paige began.

"Allow me," Piper said. She turned and, with a flick of the wrist, further shattered the table Vaughn had landed on.

"Wow!" Pamela said, sniffling.

Phoebe picked up the ball and began to levitate.

Pamela grinned.

"You're one of us, Pamela," Paige said, smiling. "You're a witch."

"A witch? Me? No way," Pamela protested. Then she looked over at Vaughn and Sydney. "Who are you guys, anyway? Are you witches, too?"

"My name's Michael Vaughn, and this is Sydney Bristow. We're not witches, I'm afraid."

"We're CIA agents," Sydney added, not willing to allow Vaughn to let himself be outdone by a few witches.

"Cool," Pamela said. It occurred to her, just a fleeting thought, that she felt like she belonged with this strange bunch of people, a feeling she hadn't experienced since her parents died.

* * *

Aw, isn't that sweet? Don't worry, it won't happen again. This is about to get REAL interesting. I'm talking DEMONIC, here! lol


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: None of these people are my personal creations. Except Pamela. And I do not comprehend the human minds well enough (YET) to effectively characterize a child, but I'm working on it.

A/N: Okay, usually, I don't do this, but I got a review I felt it necessary to reply to.

Rebkos: Unfortunately, I haven't watched enough X-Files to know the characters, but that would be cool to add them in!

* * *

The whole episode had taken less than twenty minutes to sort out and develop into an awkward lull. Vaughn thought it might have been easier if he could have said the only thing he could think: here, right in front of him, was his _child_.

The girl was a mirror image of Pru. Hair, face, build, everything just as Pru would have looked at twelve. The only difference was Pamela's sharp green eyes, Vaughn's own eyes. He found himself mesmerized by those eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Pamela asked, breaking the spell.

"Uh…nothing," he murmured, looking away.

Sydney stepped deftly between Vaughn and Pamela, one hand on Vaughn's arm and the other on Pamela's back, and herded them toward the kitchen.

"Piper, didn't you say there were some chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen?" Sydney hinted.

"Oh, yeah," Piper said, urging Pamela to follow as she turned toward the kitchen. "Would you like a snack, or something to drink?"

Paige followed, as did Phoebe after giving Sydney a quick grin. It didn't take an empath to know she wanted a minute alone with Vaughn.

"She's beautiful," Sydney said quietly.

"I almost can't believe it," Vaughn said, still looking past the door through which Pamela had disappeared. "She looks just like Pru."

"Vaughn…you know you can't tell her that," Sydney warned carefully.

"I know. I just wish I…"Vaughn trailed off as an evil looking man sort of shimmered into the living room behind Sydney.

Sydney turned, then screamed when a fireball appeared in their visitor's hand. The fireball came at them and hit Vaughn in the shoulder, spinning him around and flipping him over the couch they'd been standing in front of.

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, followed closely by Pamela--who'd been warned to stay put, of course--scrambled into the room, just as the demon--or warlock, or whatever the hell he was--was about to throw a fireball at Sydney.

"_Fireball_," Paige yelled just before it hit Sydney, then directed it back at its origin.

Piper tried to blow him up at the same time the fireball hit, and it did very little damage. The creature shimmered again, and it was gone.

"Leo!" Phoebe cried, seeing Vaughn on the floor with a huge burn on his shoulder.

Following Phoebe's gaze, Sydney was on the floor beside him before anyone could stop her.

"Vaughn! Vaughn, come on," Sydney pleaded.

Phoebe kneeled on the other side of Vaughn's unconscious form and checked his neck for a pulse.

"He's okay," Phoebe said as Leo orbed in behind her.

"What happened?" Leo asked, his eyes quickly searching the room and its newest scorch marks.

"We were attacked," Phoebe commented dryly.

"Or rather, Sydney and Michael were attacked," Piper noted, indicating Vaughn as she pulled Sydney reluctantly to her feet and away from Vaughn.

Leo immediately crouched, and Sydney watched as the gaping wound was bathed in golden light, then disappeared. Piper turned her loose as Vaughn sat up, and Sydney practically pounced on him.

"Wow," Vaughn managed, looking up at Phoebe around Sydney because she was closest. "And you three do this every day?"

"Yeah, mostly," Phoebe said with a sardonic grin.

"No," Piper commented, a note in her voice telling her sisters and husband she'd realized something. "Not usually _every_ day. The Source has never sent two attackers that close together before."

"The Source?" Pamela asked from the doorway, where she'd frozen at the sight of the flaming ball of fire.

"The Source of all evil," Paige said with a shrug.

"I'll see what I can find out," Leo said in concern. He heard what piper didn't say: two attacks in two days, both while the CIA agents were present, probably meant something.

"We'll check the Book," Piper said, and Leo disappeared in his characteristic swirly blue lights.

* * *

An eerie red light emanated from the black-cloaked demon, enough to instill fear in even the boldest minion of the Source.

The demon sent to check on the Charmed Ones kneeled, somewhat painfully, until the Source bade him rise.

"What have you to say?" the voice came from behind the hood.

"It is too late. The Charmed Ones have the girl, sire."

"Fool!" the Source roared. "Your task was only to kill a _mortal_ with no powers before he led the Charmed Ones to the child! I will not tolerate such a failure!"

Fire erupted from the hand of the Source and licked hungrily upwards.

"No!" the demon screamed as the flames shot froth and enveloped him.

The Source wave his hand, and the Seer sprang up before him.

"What do you see now?" he demanded impatiently.

The Seer's eyes seemed to roll back in her head until there were only cloudy orbs.

"There is a spell in their Book of Shadows," the Seer said, her words deliberate. "It will cement the child's place within the power of three, and she will become untouchable to us. The child must be reached before the witches discover this spell."

"Then she will be reached. Leave me," the Source ordered, while he pondered which demon would be right for the killing of a young witch.

* * *

"The Book of Shadows," Phoebe clarified for Sydney, Vaughn, and Pamela as they reached the attic. "It contains spells, and information on various magical creatures. Including known demons and warlocks."

"And it protects itself from evil," Paige added.

"So you're hoping to find that…whatever it was in the Book of Shadows?" Sydney asked.

"Right," Piper said, flipping open the heavy book. "How did he appear?" she asked Sydney and Vaughn.

"He…sorta wavered for a second," Sydney supplied.

"Shimmered…that means we're looking for a demon," Piper murmured, flipping pages.

Paige and Phoebe crowded around behind her. Pamela, curiosity getting the better of her, stood on tiptoe to look over Paige's shoulder. Sydney and Vaughn exchanged glances, then shrugged and joined the huddle.

Piper turned another page, and everybody yelled at once.

"There!"

"Him!"

"That's him!"

"That one!"

"That's the one!"

Piper cast an annoyed glance over her shoulder.

"O-_kay._ You don't have to _shout_," she muttered. "Jinx," she read aloud for the benefit of anyone who couldn't see. "Lower-level demon…acts as a hit man for the Source…_only attacks mortals_…"

"He was after me," Vaughn said, staring at the picture in the Book. "Why?"

"I don't know," Piper said, moving away before her entourage pressed any closer. "But I'd say he had the backing of the Source, or our combined powers would have easily vanquished him."

Lights danced, and Leo glanced around to find Piper off to the side and the other five huddled around the Book of Shadows.

"I found out about your demon," Leo said. "He wasn't after the Charmed Ones, he was after…"

"Me," Vaughn interrupted.

"Yeah, cut to the _why_," Piper said. "We know Jinx was after Michael and that he had to have the backing of the Source."

"As far as the Elders can tell, the Source was trying to eliminate him before he accomplished some task, the Elders think that was finding Pamela."

"But now they know we have her. Does that mean I'm safe?" Vaughn asked.

"Probably," Leo agreed. "But presume nothing. The Source obviously has an agenda, and if his original plan failed as we suspect, he'll have a backup plan."

"But if his goal was to keep me from…" Vaughn trailed off, realizing that if they continued with this line of thought, Pamela would eventually figure out there was something everyone was specifically hiding from her.

Sydney caught on.

"Pamela, what do you say we go take a closer look at this book?" Sydney said, looking to Piper for approval. "If that's okay?"

"Sure, just stay inside. The Book doesn't leave the manor," Piper explained.

"Right," Sydney agreed, pulling the Book off the podium.

Vaughn waited until the door shut behind Sydney and Pamela to continue what he'd been saying.

"If the Source's goal is to keep me from finding Pamela, he's already failed," Vaughn continued. "But why would he want me not to find Pamela?"

"Because she's a witch," Paige said. "The daughter of a Charmed One."

"She must have the power to become a Charmed One," Phoebe said. "Otherwise, the Source would never be interested in a little girl."

"He's going to come after Pamela," Piper said, a determination hardening her voice.

* * *

Oh, no! Run, Pamela, run! Oh, wait, he'd probably just blink or shimmer and get you anyway…may be you better just let Aunty Piper blow him up…Or may be Phoebe can send him to Timbuktu. It rhymes with undo, doncha know…


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: None of it's mine. 'Cept Pamela.

A/N: Gimme all you got. I need some constructive criticism on this story.

* * *

"Wow," Pamela said, flipping the pages of the Book of Shadows. "Are all these real?" 

"I guess so," Sydney said, almost as fascinated as Pamela.

"Are these real spells?"

"I don't know. I'm not a witch. I've never seen anything like this before, either."

"Hey, look at this. A conjuring spell," Pamela said.

"I don't think you should be playing with spells without supernatural supervision," Sydney said wryly.

"Aw, come on, it's just a harmless little spell. I'm a witch, right?" Pamela argued.

"No. You know even less about magic than _I_ do," Sydney asserted. "No spells."

"Fine," Pamela pouted.

"Sydney." Paige appeared in the doorway. "They need the Book upstairs. I'll stay with Pamela."

A sense of urgency in Paige's voice caused Sydney to snatch up the Book of Shadows and dash wordlessly up the stairs. She was out of breath when she reached the attic.

"What's going on?" she gasped.

"We think the Source is going to come after Pamela," Vaughn said before anyone else had a chance.

Piper took the book from Sydney and returned it to its place.

"What are we even looking for?" Vaughn asked.

"There's a sense of urgency in the underworld," Leo said. "There is still a deadline they're trying to meet. The Source might be trying to get to Pamela before the sisters can perform some binding actions, presumably casting a spell."

"A spell?" Sydney said. "What kind of spell?"

"It could be almost anything…" Piper murmured distractedly.

"Could it be a protection spell?"

"There's no such thing," Phoebe protested.

"There is. I saw one just now, when Pamela was looking at the Book." Sydney came to stand beside Piper and flipped a few pages, then a few more. "Here. Power of Three Protection spell."

"I've never seen this before," Piper said.

Phoebe came to stand on the other side of Piper.

"Leo, will this work?" Phoebe asked incredulously.

Leo shrugged.

"There's only one way to find out."

A shriek from downstairs sent them all--even those without powers to defend themselves--scrambling down the stairs. Sydney grabbed the Book as she ran.

The reached the living room to find Paige shielding Pamela from the fireballs of a demon, but Pamela was just too far for Paige to reach her to orb her away.

Phoebe charged in, levitated, and delivered a solid kick to the perfectly human-looking demon's head.

"Leo! Take her away until we call!" Piper yelled. "Move, Phoebe!" she cried, trying to get a clear shot at the demon. She blew up a vase instead.

When the demon saw Pamela was gone, he shimmered before Piper got another chance at him.

Piper took the Book from Sydney and set it on the coffee table.

"We can't send Pamela home until we figure out how to keep her safe," Paige said. "And we sure can't bring her here."

"We'll just have to take precautions," Phoebe said.

"Right. That's all we can do," Piper said. "Phoebe, you look for that demon in the Book. Paige, see what you can do about a demonic alarm system, there's a box of cleansed crystals in the attic somewhere. I'll…"

"What can we do?" Vaughn asked.

"I will arm these two with some potions to protect themselves with, since they know no fear," Piper amended, turning for the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, the kitchen reeked of potions. Three large pots bubbled and boiled as Piper filled various vials with the colorful liquids.

"Now," she said, still at her task and glancing up only briefly to assure she had her audience's attention. "The blue one duplicates my exploding power. Use it carefully; it will blow up on contact. The red one is a vanquishing potion for Jinx. I doubt we'll need it since there is a different demon out now, but just in case." She handed them each a vial of both potions. "The green one is an anti-shimmering potion. If you hit a demon with it, it'll prevent him from shimmering long enough for us to vanquish him, hopefully." They each got one of those, too.

Paige walked in to place large white crystals in front of the windows and doors.

"That's the last of them," she said. "I'm not sure it'll work, though. We don't know what level the demon is."

"The demon's not in the Book," Phoebe said in frustration, joining them. She tore pages off of a legal pad. "But I did copy down that spell Sydney found."

"What spell?" Paige demanded.

"Oh, sorry," Piper said. "The spell we suspect the Source is trying to kill Pamela before we can cast."

"Great. What do we do now?" she asked, studying the vials of potions Sydney had lined up on the counter. She held up a blue one. "This doesn't simulate your exploding power, does it? Sure that's smart, to give them that?"

"Yes, it does, and no, I'm not," Piper said, looking at the clock. "Pamela should have been home already."

"But we can't possibly send her back until we cast the spell," Phoebe protested. "Her power is active. That's how the Source is tracking her."

"We have to bring her back here and hope we can cast the spell before the demon attacks," Piper said.

"Where?"

"The attic. It's the safest place within the manor."

* * *

Standing in a tight circle, hands joined, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige awaited Leo's return. They'd already filled him in on the plan: he was to orb Pamela within the circle, then orb himself out. Sydney and Vaughn stood nearby, neither quite sure what to expect. Each had the blue and green vials clutched tightly in their hands. 

Blue lights danced and formed into human shapes, signaling Leo and Pamela's arrival. Leo orbed out without ever having fully solidified.

As one, the sister's began to recite the spell they'd memorized.

"_Protect now our sister witch  
Within the Power of the Circle of Three…_"

Before they could finish, the newest demon shimmered into the attic. Before anyone could react, the demon telekinetically threw the sisters across the attic, effectively scattering them and leaving Pamela unprotected. Clearly unsure of the power of the power of the witch he'd been sent to kill, the demon put his arm around Pamela from behind, intending to shimmer with her to someplace where there'd be less interference with the kill.

Sensing, on some elemental level she'd never be able to explain, that they'd lose Pamela forever if the demon shimmered with her, Sydney hurled the vial of green liquid and hit the demon in the back.

Furious, the demon spun on Vaughn, still holding Pamela against him. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, largely unscathed, scrambled to reach each other and finish the spell.

The demon produced a fireball in his hand. Pamela shrieked.

"_From all powers of evil…_"

The fireball zoomed toward Vaughn's head. Pamela stared in horror, praying for a miracle.

"_And the strength of its will…_"

At the last possible second, the flaming projectile curved sharply, hitting the wall just inches from its mark.

"_Until she and her magic reach maturity_."

Pamela glowed for a moment, then out of nowhere, a clear, jelly-looking blue shield sprang up around her, knocking the demon backward.

All at once, Sydney and Vaughn threw their blue-potion-filled vials, and Piper threw up her hands. The explosion was such that Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Sydney, Vaughn, and Leo were all thrown up against the wall, and Pamela flew backward and skidded several feet--the shield completely gone now--to land at Vaughn's feet.

Everyone sat on the floor in a kind of shock for a few moments.

"Well," Paige finally said. "The spell worked."

Vaughn stood and hauled Pamela to her feet.

"I should be dead now," he commented. "What happened?"

"Pamela," Sydney said, looking to Leo and the sisters for confirmation. "Pamela saved him."

"Me?" Pamela squeaked. "What did I do?"

"You moved the fireball," Phoebe said. "You're the only one that could do that, sweetie. It had to be you."

Vaughn put one hand on Pamela's shoulder to turn her to face him.

"Thank you," he said solemnly.

Pamela blushed.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I mean, I didn't _know_ I did it," she stuttered.

Piper smiled softly, noticing once again how much like Pru Pamela looked.

"I think you'll be safe now, Pamela, but you should practice that power of yours," she instructed. "You'll be a target now, too."

Pamela's eyes widened.

"I think that's enough sage advice for now," Paige broke in. "We're late."

"Oh!" Pamela moved hastily to take Paige's hand.

Someone was pounding on Pamela's door and shouting when they orbed into her room.

"Pamela! If you don't come out here right now, the others are going to eat your dinner, and I'm going to let them!"

Paige winked and disappeared before Pamela opened the door and walked out, still shell-shocked but grinning.

* * *

Aw, how sweet! And, yes, I borrowed Pamela's shield from Wyatt, whom I should have had in this story but didn't. We'll just say Leo left him with his Elder babysitter because the elf nanny had the week off, right? Lol. If you don't watch Charmed, just don't ask, you'd only be confused. If you do watch Charmed, don't be too mad at me for leaving Wyatt out. I'd hate to have to have him abducted by Jinx, or something. _Any_way…please review! This story's almost over now!

Nice try, Rebkos, but no cigar! lol


	14. Epilogue

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. It's only a mere fantasy…

A/N: I'm a simple country girl from Georgia. If my descriptions of anything are off, I blame living in a one-horse town all my life. The only place I travel to is Arkansas to visit my grandparents, and the town they live in is even more backwoods-Hicksville than the one I live in.

* * *

"Have you heard from Piper?" Sydney asked softly.

It had been two weeks since they'd left San Francisco, with Jack confused as hell and Piper promising to contact them as soon as anything got worked out. They'd heard nothing, and Jack, being…well, Jack, was still convinced his loss of memory was some sort of terrorist stunt, despite Sydney and Vaughn's assertions that he'd tripped and knocked his head on the banister in the Haliwail home the third day they'd been there. Which wasn't entirely a fabrication. He _had_ hit his head on the banister.

"Piper called yesterday. Things have been set in motion for them to act as a foster family for now. After they decide to tell her the truth, they'll start trying to prove relation so they can adopt without much resistance," Vaughn muttered in response.

There were, after all, ears everywhere within the CIA.

Sydney nodded slowly.

"Are you going to go back soon?" she finally asked.

Vaughn could only shrug.

"I haven't decided, honestly, if I'll go back at all." He held up a hand to silence her. "She'll have enough challenges, dealing with what the sisters deal with. I'm not sure I want to risk subjecting her to my demons, too."

Sydney recognized the vague note of despair in his voice.

"You'll go back," Sydney said with a grin. "You won't be able to stay away." Vaughn remained silent. "I'd like to go with you, when you go," she added hesitantly.

"Why?" Vaughn asked before he could stifle the question. "I mean, you don't need to feel obligated to get to know her."

"I want to," Sydney argued. "Besides…" She grinned. "Knowing what you know about my family, I'm curious to get to know a little more about yours."

Vaughn laughed.

"I hope you don't mean the sisters. Piper was a kid last time I saw her, Phoebe was a baby still, and no one knew Paige existed."

"Admit it," Sydney said, giving him a friendly jab in the ribs. "You felt like you could belong around there, even when the demons were trying to kill us."

Vaughn shook his head in mock defeat.

"Actually, I think _living_ there would produce more stress than _working _here. But I guess it's not such a bad place to visit. All demons considered."

* * *

Hehehe. I like that line. "All demons considered." sighs Yes, it was a lame joke. So sue me.


End file.
